


Without Thought

by teaandabiccie



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alpha Monkey D. Luffy, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Dubious Consent, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Omega Roronoa Zoro
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:35:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27343660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teaandabiccie/pseuds/teaandabiccie
Summary: After a strange vial is smashed in Zoro's face, he's sent spiralling into a heat so intense that his health is in danger. The crew do their best to fix the situation but thoughtless actions lead to consequences nobody was prepared for.
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy/Roronoa Zoro, Mugiwara Kaizoku | Strawhat Pirates & Roronoa Zoro
Comments: 53
Kudos: 183





	1. Day Trip

**Author's Note:**

> Soooo, I am doing NaNoWriMo this year with fanworks instead of my personal writing projects. Since 2020 has been a big bash to the brain, I've decided to (maybe) be kind to myself and allow my chaotic creative processes to go wild and switch between projects as the urge hits. All words count. Nothing is off limits.
> 
> So I'm starting with a risk. A friend requested this and has challenged me to do it as a gift to her. It's pretty far from my usual comfort zone when dealing with this trope but I am not one to back down from a challenge so here we go!
> 
> This is going to be a lot more explicit than my other fics and will deal with some themes that not everyone will like. Depending on the reception it gets, I might decide to release more of it on here. If it's not enjoyed, I might just hand it to its requester directly. I'll be updating tags for each chapter.
> 
> There will also be no shortage of soft platonic moments in this thing because I'm weak and found family is my jam.

"What part of 'day trip' do you not understand, Zoro?"

Zoro blinked up at the looming figure of Nami. She had her hands on her hips as she leaned into his space. Normally, he would be taller than her, but he was sitting and she was standing. Plus, she was wearing ridiculous heels since she'd dressed up for the occasion. She had encouraged them to as well but only Robin and Sanji had responded even remotely favourably to that request. Chopper had put on his 'nice shorts' but in reality they were just a marginally less worn pair of the exact same shorts. Luffy was still wearing the Galley-La shirt he'd been given two days ago and insisting it was fine. It had food stains down it. Zoro was the same, minus the food stains.

He wasn't entirely certain whether this had contributed to Nami's decision that they wouldn't explore Pucci together but would instead implement a buddy system. He was quite certain that it had influenced her choice to put him on Luffy duty.

A duty he had performed for about an hour before the street moved or Luffy shot off somewhere and no amount of wandering brought them back together. That had told Zoro that it was a better choice to simply stop looking and do what he had wanted to do since they had arrived: sample the local alcohol. Luffy would be found when Luffy wanted to be found. They'd be brought back together when they needed to be.

"I'm waiting," snapped Nami. "Does it look like day to you?"

Zoro followed her pointer finger towards the door, which the cook stood slightly to the side of, body wiggling like a charmed snake in response to two overdressed women by the coat rack. Annoying.

To Nami, he simply shrugged. "Well, it's not the next day."

Nami seethed. "We have a train to catch! Do you know how many bars Sanji and I have had to comb through looking for you? We said we were getting the nine o'clock train, Zoro. What time is it now?"

Zoro shrugged again. "Not nine?"

"It's ten thirty!"

"My bad," said Zoro, lifting his sake to his lips.

"Yes, it is your bad," replied Nami, furiously. She was wearing lipstick. Somehow it served to make her look even angrier, like a wealthy woman stood up for her date. "Leave that - everyone's waiting at the station. We've got to get going if we're even going to catch the _eleven_ o'clock train now."

In spite of Nami's ire, Zoro grabbed the bottle of sake he'd been given and upended its contents into his mouth. It was meant to be enjoyed slower than this but there was no way on the grandline or anywhere else that he was leaving behind perfectly good booze that he had already paid for.

"Zoro," hissed Nami, grabbing at the arm holding the bottle, from which he was currently chugging. The motion jogged his arm, causing sake to pour down his chin and be wasted on his shirt.

He knocked her hand away with his elbow, shooting her a glare.

She was unperturbed. " _Now._ "

He closed his eyes as he continued to gulp down his drink.

"You are impossible!" He felt rather than saw her turn in the direction of the cook but whatever she had been going to say was cut off by approaching footsteps.

"Is this guy bothering you, sweetheart?" The voice was a low drawl that made even Zoro's skin crawl.

He finished his sake and slammed the bottle down on the bar with a little too much force. The man, a greasy looking thug-type with an unlit cigar between his lips, ignored him entirely. He was flanked by two friends, who were burlier than he was but less richly dressed. A poser then. With hired muscle to make himself seem tougher.

Nami shot the newcomer a cold look. "No, not at all. Come on, Zoro, let's go."

"Oh, don't be like that," said the guy, with a predatory smile. "Why don't you ditch this loser and spend the night with me, hm? Let me buy you a drink - your choice, of course."

"No, thank you," said Nami, sharply. She reached out, grabbed Zoro's arm and pulled. "We're leaving."

Zoro allowed himself to be pulled outside, ignoring the sleezy guy. He'd been able to drink enough that while he wasn't drunk by any means, there was a pleasant buzz running through his veins and he felt more relaxed than he had any business being considering their actions at Enies Lobby. He'd seen Nami be hit on on numerous occasions, occasions that were hers to handle. She didn't need any of them to threaten small fries for her. If she did, she would make it apparent.

Right now, she was purely pissed off. He could feel it through the tight grip she had on his arm. Her nails were digging into his skin.

"Hey," he said, risking death as she started to stomp as well as a woman wearing six-inch heels could in what he assumed was the direction of the station.

"What?" she snapped. "We're already late because of you. What now?"

"Where's the shit cook?"

Nami swore violently, peppering her curses with complaints about the men of the crew and their uselessness.

Zoro didn't correct her. He just stood in front of her, arm still detained by hers, until she prodded him firmly in the chest.

"Go back into the bar and grab him. If you two fight and I have to go back in there to smooth things over, I will double your debt. If we miss this train because of you, I will quadruple it. I mean it, Zoro - this is an expensive island. We didn't bring enough beli for a hotel. Do you hear me?"

"Yeah, yeah," said Zoro. He didn't understand why the hell he had to grab the shitty cook, when one word from Nami would send him running. But it really wasn't worth arguing, so he turned around and walked towards the bar.

"No, that way," said Nami, pushing him in the other direction.

As he walked away, he heard her mutter something about doing it herself and wished that she would. But she didn't follow him into the bar.

He found Sanji almost instantly. The lighting in the bar was orange tinted and highlighted the blonde of the cook's hair, like the flame on a candle. He was sitting at a booth with a group of four women, two of whom Zoro recognised as the two he had been talking to earlier. There was a wine bottle in his hand, from which he was pouring a drink for the woman on his left.

Zoro could have approached this in a polite way. He could have simply said, 'Hey, Cook, Nami wants you.' And the idiot would go running out of the bar. He loved all women too much but Nami was by the worst female influence upon him. However, something about the cook being in here, enjoying another drink with these women, while Zoro had been forced to cease drinking, pissed him off. And that course of action did nothing to soothe his irritation.

So instead he swiped the bottle out of Sanji's hand and took the biggest swig of it he could.

Sanji's curly eyebrows went on a journey. First, they rose in shock, then they narrowed in fury, the skin around them reddening with rage.

"What the hell, marimo!" he snapped, before turning to address a heartfelt apology to the nearest woman.

That was also irritating but now Zoro had additional booze. And while he had it, the cook was bound to follow so he started to move away, dodging the kick aimed at his shoulder blades.

"Hey!" shouted the bartender. "Take it outside! _Out_ side!"

His shouts and Nami's warning fell on deaf ears as Sanji kicked the bottle out of Zoro's hand. It fell to the floor and smashed, splashing dark red liquid up both of their legs. Wado slipped out of her sheath easily. Zoro mounted the nearest table, ready to jump down and slash, even though the cook's foot was already rising to intercept it. From there, he would feint with kitetsu and smack Sanji between his shoulder blades with the back of the blade.

Except a shriek from outside stopped them both mid-strike.

Nami.

Immediately, both Zoro and Sanji surged out of the door. Nami stood a few feet away, almost exactly where Zoro had left her. Except she wasn't alone. The creep from earlier had her pinned against the wall with one arm, his other hand reaching for something inside his coat. Four friends stood around them, turning with half a cry of alarm. Only half because, sparing each other only a glance of confirmation, both Zoro and Sanji descended upon them.

Without thought, Zoro, who was closest, leapt off the cook's outstretched leg, barrelling into the nearest goon and using him as another springboard to launch himself at the man holding Nami.The makeshift springboard fell to the ground, clutching a dislocated shoulder. Fear filling his eyes, the man holding Nami released her, taking a hasty step backwards. It didn't save him. Zoro's blade connected with his shoulder, his knee slamming into his stomach. This put Nami's would-be attacker of balance. It took no additional effort on Zoro's part to shift his weight just so and pin the bastard to the ground.

Something hard and sharp was smashed against the side of his head.

Nami screamed.

Hot red liquid splashed into his ear, his eye, his nose, his mouth. It poured down his front like spilled wine. It burned his skin, stung his eyes, clogged his nose with the scents of metal and bad aftershave so excessive that for a moment he swayed, sitting heavily on top of the man, stunned.

The man attempted to scramble out from underneath him, bringing Zoro back to his senses.

Zoro slammed Wado's hilt into the side of his head. He fell still with a wet gurgle.

Behind him, he could hear Sanji dispatching the others. Then Nami's hands were on him.

"Hold still! This looks bad. Is there glass in your face? Are you alright?"

"I'm-" _fine_ , he had been going to say. He'd taken worse hits to the head. It didn't feel like his brains were scrambled or in any danger of spilling from his skull. He didn't think there was any glass embedded in him. He might develop a bit of a headache but it was nothing another drink on the train wouldn't solve.

Except suddenly his skin was on fire. Every inch of him tingled. The warmth of the unconscious man underneath him seemed to bleed through his clothes into his skin and it wasn't enough. He doubled over as his stomach cramped.

"A-ah!"

"Zoro?"

He could hear the concern in Nami's voice. Her fingers were gentle as they found the side of his head that might have been injured. He leaned into them. _Warm, safe._ _Touch me more._

"Don't touch me," he bit out as another cramp rolled through him.

The first gush of slick pulsed hot and wet between his legs. He fell to the side, rolling off of Nami's attacker as if stung. The world tilted as he did but it tilted a little too much. He laid there, mercifully too far to feel the heat of that asshole stranger's body, too far for his body to react to it.

Except his body was reacting anyway with or without the unwelcome touch of another.

"Marimo?" Sanji's voice grew closer.

Zoro clamped his eyes shut tightly, a shiver running through him. Cold, he was cold. He needed another body pressed up against his. The heat was unbearable. He needed the touch of cool fingers against his skin. Another cramp struck him. He was empty. So empty. So cold. So alone.

"Fuck," he spat, hugging himself tightly. The pressure felt better but it was a hollow relief. It wasn't enough.

"That guy smashed this vial in his face," said Nami. She was approaching too. "Might be a head injury. I don't know what was in it but it smells... weird. Don't touch it just in case. I'll take a sample for Chopper - some of it already splashed on me."

He heard Sanji curse close by. Too close. Not close enough. He kept his eyes closed, taking choppy breaths in through his nose and out through his mouth.

"Oi, Zoro," said the cook, too softly. "Look at me."

"Don't touch him, Sanji," said Nami.

Zoro opened his eyes to see the cook's fingers hovering close to his chin like they were intending to tilt it upwards to get a better view. The cook himself was crouching over him, regarding him with a serious expression and a furrowed curly eyebrow. Zoro focussed on the eyebrow and not the hands or the heat or the _need._ His heart thumped rapidly in his chest, his breath coming quick and fast.

Cold panic shot through him, undercutting the equally cold feeling of being alone and the weird icy heat of his body. He knew this feeling but not like this.

"Do you know who I am?" asked the cook in a careful way he never spoke to Zoro.

Zoro shuddered, reaching through the haze for his words. "A- a shitty bastard cook."

Oddly, the procalamation made him feel better. Even more oddly, Sanji didn't bristle at that. Instead the corners of his lips quirked upwards, a relieved sigh escaping from them as he rocked back on the balls of his feet.

"And you're still the shitty swordsman," he replied. "Where are you hurt? Can you move?"

"'M not," he moaned as another painful cramp seized his insides. "I think I'm-"

He cut himself off, curling more tightly around his midsection and tucking his legs up. It wasn't enough pressure. He wasn't warm. He wasn't safe. He wasn't home - wherever that was. There was a slice of 'home' in front of him that he wanted to reach desperately for but he couldn't. He _couldn't_. He didn't behave this way. He wasn't weak. This wasn't what it was supposed to be like. His breath came in short pants as he rode through it.

He didn't know when he had squeezed his eyes shut but when they reopened, Sanji's face was too close to his own and his eyes were so wide that in any other situation, Zoro would have found it funny.

"Shit," said Sanji, a hand hovering over his forehead but not touching as Nami approached. "Are you... Nami, he's-"

Nami was standing next behind him, red liquid splashed up the side of her dress. She would charge him for that, he thought idly, and the concept brought him some peace. Even though he hadn't been the one to smash the bottle and he had only been there to protect her in first place... Although she had only been here to collect him...

"In heat, yeah," said Nami grimly. Then more quietly, like she didn't really want any of them to hear. "I've never seen it come on like this before. He's not due for another month. There must have been something in that vial. And he could still have a head injury." She ran a shaky hand through her hair. "Help him up, we have to get back to the others."

"Yes, Nami-swaaan," said Sanji, though it lacked his usual performative wiggle or look of adoration.

Instead he was still looking at Zoro, still serious. It didn't suit his stupid, curly-eyebrowed face. He reached out towards, Zoro, hooking one arm around his shoulder.

Zoro shuddered, his body automatically falling into the touch. Then flinched as Sanji's other arm begin to slide under his knees. _Yes_ , sung his body, prompting his knees to part. The motion exposed more of his slick dampened pants to the air and to view. He knew his scent must already be thick in the air. He knew this undoubtedly made it thicker. Sanji's hand reflexively tightened on his shoulder.

"No," Zoro growled, shoving Sanji back and pushing himself up onto his hands and knees.

The cook seemed to be holding his breath. Before he spoke, his nose wrinkled. "Don't be stupid, shit swordsman. Let us help."

Zoro hoped that the look he shot the cook conveyed all the cold fury and threat that he wanted it to and none of the desperation or discomfort wracking his body. "I don't need your help," he spat, full of venom.

Sanji looked like he had swallowed a bee. He scowled. "Then get on your feet. We need to get moving now before you attract any more attention."

"Haven't attracted _anything,_ " Zoro spat petulantly, pushing himself up to one knee.

"How far out are we?" Sanji asked Nami in a low voice.

"On a normal day? Fifteen minutes walk or so. At this pace?" Nami shrugged.

The world was swimming. Everything was hazy. The cook extended an arm towards him that he could grab if he wanted to but didn't attempt to touch him. Sanji's face was turned away from him like he was trying to offer some kind of privacy or, his inner omega provided unhelpfully, like he couldn't even stand to look at the pathetic sight before him. But Zoro could see him watching from the corners of his eyes.

"Is the eleven o'clock train definitely the last one?" asked Sanji.

Nami nodded grimly, fixing Zoro with a frown as he managed to force himself up on unsteady legs. "If we miss it, the next one leaves at five in the morning."

"How much money do we have?" Sanji enquired, his arm still extended, still ignored.

Nami clicked her tongue. "Not enough. If we miss that train, we'll be spending the night at the station."

"We can't, not with him like this," said Sanji, gesturing towards Zoro with his thumb like he wasn't right there and perfectly capable of understanding human speech.

"I know," Nami replied.

"It's fine," said Zoro a little too forcefully.

His mind was already a haze of wants but that did not mean he didn't hear what was being discussed around him. It didn't mean he didn't understand what his nakama needed him to do. Walk. Walk faster. Heat or no heat, he was not a burden to his crew. He took an uncoordinated step forwards in the direction Nami had indicated. His legs were shaking. The heat pooling low in his belly seeped downwards and sapped them of their strength. He could feel the slick begin to slide down his inner thighs and paused as he shuddered in digust.

"Shit."

Nami took advantage of his distraction, inserting herself under his arm and grabbing his wrist to stop him moving away. Her other arm encircled his waist in a firm grip.

" _Nami_ ," he all but growled at her.

"Don't be difficult," chided Nami. He couldn't see her eyes from this angle. Her hair had fallen into her face. "If I let you go, you'll only wander off and get lost."

"I don't-" Zoro began, faltering as Nami started to walk. Sanji fell into step on his other side and Zoro resolutely ignored him, grasping at the sentence he'd been intending to say. "I don't get lost. The streets - they move on their own."

"Of _course_ they do," said Nami. He could see her smile. It didn't seem completely real. She cleared her throat awkwardly. "Well, they don't do that to me so let's go the shortest route back to the station, shall we?"

Zoro didn't like her tone, but he did like her familiar scent of tangerines, her soft fingers brushing the inside of his wrist. It wasn't what his body craved. _She_ wasn't what his body desired. But she _was_ warm. She was a promise of home and that more than her physical form gave him the support he needed to force his legs to carry him forwards.


	2. Sea Train

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have rewritten this three times and I'm still not happy with it but my roommate keeps nagging me to work on this fic for her so here it is! I would like it to be better but hopefully, it is still enjoyable.
> 
> This chapter is at 'lemon & herb' on the Nandos spice scale. Not too spicy, maybe a smattering of cajun. Because of this chapter though, next chapter will contain a much higher percentage of spice and that sweet LuZo goodness.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

The thing about the last train of the night was that it was invariably either incredibly busy if there had been any kind of event on or the complete opposite. Thankfully for the Straw Hat crew, a combination of nothing particularly exciting being planned for this basic weekday evening and the residual gossip around the damage to the sea train a couple of days earlier meant that today's last train was not very busy at all.

A fact that was exceptionally lucky as Sanji and Nami came barrelling onto the platform with four minutes to go before the train's departure, half-dragging, half-carrying the almost limp form of their swordsman.

The others didn't notice, not at first. Luffy and Chopper were performing some sort of chopstick dance to an amused Robin. She looked up upon their arrival, eyes widening almost imperceptibly in shock. A member of staff moved to intercept them before Robin could even say anything.

"Hey-" the conductor begin, moving to block their path to the train.

Nami and Sanji exchanged a look. Nami peeled away to talk the man as Sanji adjusted his grip to better support a panting Zoro.

Zoro hissed in response.

"Come on, Marimo," Sanji with startling softness, giving Zoro's waist a squeeze.

Zoro shivered then flinched. "I'm walking," he huffed, as though that was what his dragging feet could be called.

"Zoro?" The voice was Luffy's.

A shudder rolled through the swordsman, who stumbled, biting back a curse as Sanji caught him before he could fall. The cook's hand on his chest burned.

"Zoro! Oh no, Doctor!" yelled Chopper.

"That's you," Sanji hissed.

"What happened?" asked Robin.

"I'll tell you when we get on the train. Let's just get on the damn train already," Sanji growled.

Zoro shuddered in his grip and it took more self-control than anticipated to avoid scooping him up. Not because there was anything instinctive telling him to care for or protect his omega crewmate. Not at all. He was impervious to all but the wiles of wonderful women. It was just because his patience was beginning to wear thin and this way would be faster. Much faster.

Fuck it. He bent down and knocked Zoro's knees out from under him, scooping him up into his arms. Zoro yelped, the sound and the sudden burst of sour scent he emitted sending a pang of regret through Sanji. He took a sharp drag on the cigarette between his lips, even though both his hands were full. The usually rich smoke tasted sour too.

"What the hell, cook? Put me _down,_ " Zoro growled in his grip.

An alarmed member of staff hurried towards them but was also flagged down by Nami. Luffy pulled away from Robin and started to approach, eyes dark. But Sanji ignored them all, carrying the squirming swordsman to the last set of doors on the train. Nobody wanted to walk all the way from the end of the platform - it was their best option to avoid other people.

"In a second, Marimo, stop squirming or I'll drop you."

"Then _drop me_!" Zoro insisted, his tone equal parts anger and alarm.

Sanji took another deep breath in, around his cigarette. The nicotine did nothing to soothe this stress. "I will, _when we get on the train_."

Chopper appeared at his elbow and reached towards the door but was beaten by one of Robin's disembodied hands.

Admiration for Robin flooded through Sanji's body as ash dropped from his cigarette, tumbling down Zoro's collarbones and onto his chest. One of Robin's hands sprouted from his shoulder to swipe it away before the glowing embers could cause any harm. The swordsman fell still instantly. Sanji felt him tremble under the touch of Robin's hand, lifting his shoulder and dropping his cheek like he intended if not to trap it there then to nuzzle into it. His eyelids fluttered and closed, his lips parting with a light gasp.

Robin's hand vanished. The small sound that escaped Zoro's lips was partway between a whine and whimper. Something in Sanji's chest clenched in response and he found himself instinctively cradling the omega's body closer to his chest.

"P-put me," Zoro gasped as Sanji stepped up and into the train carriage. "Put me - I want - _put me down_."

"In a second," hissed Sanji. "Hold on."

"Zoro," started Chopper. "Let Sanji-"

Zoro wasn't listening. With a violent jerk of his body, the swordsman shoved at his shoulder. Even uncoordinated and shaky, Zoro was still strong, strong enough that the force of the blow tore him free from Sanji's grip - but only half of it. He pushed free of the hand around his back but Sanji reflexively tightened his grip on Zoro's legs to avoid dropping him entirely. The sudden shift of weight made him stumble forwards, automatically reaching for Zoro's shirt to stop the omega from hitting the floor - only to trip over the edge of a nearby seat and lose his footing entirely.

"Shit!" was all Sanji had the chance to say before they were both falling.

He just managed to avoid driving his knee into the swordsman's body as he fell face first into the other man's chest. If Zoro had been the pretty omega woman that Sanji could almost imagine from his excessive scent when he closed his eyes then the landing would have been soft. But as it was, Zoro's chest was... not completely hard but certainly not squishy. Muscular. Male. And heaving as its owner panted.

"What the hell, mosshead?" Sanji snarled, pushing himself up on his elbows just in time to see Robin step over them both. "I'm trying to-"

The rest of that sentence died in his throat. Zoro should have taken this one of two ways - either it should have elicited unreasonable rage and he should at the very least have been glaring up at him or he should have been entirely unbothered because he was some kind of moss-covered rock in the shape of a human and didn't experience pain. Instead, his eyes were screwed shut as he took short, sharp breaths. Sanji realised with a horrible sinking feeling that the body underneath his was shaking.

"Get. Off," Zoro growled, his hands balled into fists.

For a moment, Sanji just blinked, stalled by shock. Zoro's scent washed over him, a horrible blend of _heat, heat, help me_. He was dimly aware of Chopper settling down by Zoro's head as Robin squeezed between the doctor and the next row of seats to head back towards the carriage entrance.

Luffy's voice snapped him out of it, weirdly distorted but serious. "Sanji."

Sanji jumped back as if stung. His cigarette had fallen on the floor when he had and been crushed underneath his knee. He retrieved it, his first coherent thought that he should find somewhere to throw this away.

"Kenshi-san," called Robin.

Sanji automatically glanced her way. She stood just to the side of the entrance to the carriage, next to Luffy, who had stopped directly in the doorway. Disembodied hands held her scarf over her nose and mouth, and wrapped another around Luffy's.

Zoro rolled onto his side, flinching when his forehead brushed Chopper's knee. He gave no indication of whether he was listening.

Robin continued regardless, her muffled voice soft. "I've laid a picnic blanket over the seats at the back. I'm sure you'll find it much more comfortable and hygienic to lay on."

The swordsman simply tucked his legs up, curling into a ball.

"Zoro?" called Luffy, uncertainty making his usually loud voice small. "Oi, what's wrong with Zoro?"

All eyes turned to Sanji. It took Sanji a moment to realise that it was because he was the only person capable of answering that. He hadn't even seen what happened.

"We got into fight outside the bar. Nami-san said some guy smashed a vial in his face. We took them all down and he just... dropped. He was talking... until now apparently."

"C'n talk," hissed Zoro through his teeth.

"Then you can tell them," said Sanji.

Zoro did nothing but jerk his head away from Chopper's searching hooves.

Sanji sighed. "He's in heat."

"Zoro," said Chopper. "Do you think you can move to the blanket over there?"

Zoro took in a sharp breath through his nose before responding, "Yeah."

Then proceeded, again, to do nothing.

Sanji nudged him with his foot, receiving a look from Chopper as the swordsman jerked his leg away.

"Zoro?" said the little reindeer.

Sanji added, "Move or I'll move you."

The swordsman's eyes opened in a venomous glare. "Fuck you," he spat.

"I'd rather not," said Sanji dryly. "Get up."

Zoro recoiled at the words, scrambling to a sitting position, and falling back against one of the seats. He kicked Chopper on his way but didn't seem to even notice. His eyes were glassy and unfocused, his exposed skin flushed. He shivered even though the carriage was warm. It didn't seem like he was coordinated enough to get his legs underneath him.

Luffy took a step forwards, his straw sandal slapping against the floor.

Sanji heard Robin call Luffy's name, seeing her hand extend out of the corner of his eye, no doubt trying to dissuade him from approaching. The scent of two unmated alphas probably was not doing much to help the swordsman's situation. The touch of one might have been more than he could bear - certainly more than Zoro's pride would be able to - especially considering the way he had reacted to Robin's devil fruit touch earlier.

However, once Luffy put his mind to something, there was no stopping him until that something was done. Their captain defied a lot of alpha stereotypes but he was fiercely protective over his crew.

So Sanji had to act first.

"Come on, Marimo," he said, reaching for Zoro's arm to pull him up.

His long fingers curled around Zoro's upper arm but before he could tighten his grip, the swordsman jerked his arm away with enough force to slam the back of his head into the seat.

"Don't. Touch," he hissed through his teeth. He took a breath as though he was about to say something else but cut himself off, biting down on his lip.

Chopper transformed into his most human form. The reindeer doctor made a gesture with his head for Sanji to take a step back, turning to Zoro with a voice that was both soft and firm. "Zoro, it's fine if you don't want Sanji to help you but I really need to take a look at your head. Is it okay if I help you get over to Robin's blanket?"

An inexplicable pang of hurt shot through Sanji as he stood staring down at the incapacitated swordsman. Zoro didn't answer straight away, still glaring in Sanji's direction. He took a couple of ragged breaths, prompting Chopper to call his name again, before heaving a sigh and giving a nod.

Chopper approached the move more tactfully than Sanji had, presenting his arm for the swordsman to grab and use as leverage.

Luffy appeared at Sanji's elbow. "Zoro?"

Zoro shuddered.

Instinctively, Sanji extended his arm to bar the alpha's path. "What the hell are you doing? He's in heat. Go back over there, shithead."

Luffy looked past him to the swordsman on the floor. "Zoro's bleeding..." he said, taking another step forwards like Sanji's arm wasn't even there.

Sanji grabbed him by the shoulder. "Are you deaf or stupid? The shitty swordsman is in heat and he doesn't need you stinking up the entire carriage."

At this, Luffy turned to him, a rare serious look on his face. As a beta, Sanji's awareness of the scents of their resident alphas and omega was generally low. Currently, the intense scent of Zoro's heat was drowning out all else, overwhelming to the point that Sanji couldn't process the swordsman's usual scent at all. But through all of that, he caught a hint of Luffy's now. It rose suddenly like a wave threatening to overturn a boat.

Then it was gone. The spell was broken as Nami barged into the carriage, arms full of bottles of water, three towels draped over her shoulders. Just as she did so, the train lurched and began to move. Sanji noted from the corner of his eye that Zoro and Chopper stumbled but managed to make it to the seat at the back.

As he turned, a question on his tongue, Nami hurried down the aisle of the carriage, shoving her way between them.

"Luffy, move!" she barked.

Surprisingly, he stepped aside, moving to straddle one of the seats and rest his chin on the back of it. The movement caused Robin's scarf to slip down to his chin. Sanji watched as a jolt seemed to run through him, his breath catching in his throat. Luffy's adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, pupils dialating as he watched Nami set her bottles down on the little table at the back of the train.

"Luffy," Sanji began, voice low with warning.

A hand appeared from between the train seats and tugged the scarf back over Luffy's nose and mouth, another growing from behind him to help fasten it in place.

Nami turned to face him, hands on her hips. Her dress beneath her fingertips was stained with the dried remnants of the red liquid. Sanji could see on her shoulder where this liquid mingled with the darker tones of the swordsman's blood. Even soiled as she was, Nami was beautiful. But her flawless face now betrayed exhaustion. Her tone echoed it.

"Luffy, go outside and make sure nobody else comes in here. If the conductor comes, tell them our tickets were already checked and we have a medical emergency they're not to disturb. Got it?"

Luffy wasn't looking at her. His eyes were fixed firmly on the figure of Zoro slumped in the seat behind her, arms wrapped around himself like he needed to hold himself together.

"'M not 'mergency," he muttered, dissolving into shivers.

Sanji took a step across the aisle towards Luffy, fully prepared to drag their captain out of the carriage if he had to. But the captain only blinked, then said, "But Zoro..."

Nami sighed. "Zoro needs you to guard the carriage," she said, her tone leaving no room for arguments.

"Robin can," said Luffy, an expression of uncharacteristic discomfort crossing his face.

"Sure, shithead," said Sanji. "Make Robin-chwan, whom we just rescued from the clutches of the government on this exact sea train, stand guard outside a carriage, where none of us can see her, all by herself. Yeah, great idea, captain."

Luffy tore his eyes from Zoro, frowning in Sanji's direction. Sanji thought he might be about to argue but a soft female voice cut through the tension.

"I think what Cook-san is trying to say is that it might be better for Kenshi-san if the two us stood guard together," said Robin. "That way, should we be attacked, it would leave one of us to fend off the would-be killers while the other could give a warning."

The captain seemed to consider this for a moment, gaze sliding back to Zoro and Chopper. It lingered on them briefly, unasked questions burning there. Then Luffy got up and started to move away. "Okay, but Sanji _has_ to come get us if anything happens."

He paused, pinning Sanji with a look that was just slightly too sharp. The pause lasted while Sanji swallowed, mouth dry. The air soured further.

"Yeah," he said finally, and all tension drained from Luffy's shoulders. The sharp look vanished, warmth returning to the captain's eyes. Underneath Robin's scarf, he flashed a grin. "Alright."

-

Nami hated this.

She had seen their resident reckless swordsman attempt to cut off his own feet to save their lives. She had watched him rain destruction down upon Arlong's crew with his chest open. She'd seen the sheen of fever on his brow before as his body battled the results of their poor excuse for first aid and his own poorly thought out decisions. But even with his insides fighting to become outsides, she had never seen Zoro so vulnerable.

They sat at the back of the last carriage of the last train of the night, the windows cracked to allow the cold sea air to cool the swordsman's sweltering skin. Robin had laid a picnic blanket over the seats and now Nami sat on it with Zoro's head in her lap. Sanji sat across the aisle on the edge of the seat, attention split between the group in the carriage and the carriage door, where Luffy and Robin stood guard. Or rather Robin stood guard over both the carriage they were in and Luffy. Chopper sat opposite Nami, attention divided between a book in his lap and the injured omega in Nami's.

As Nami looked down at him, the train lurched to the side in response to choppier waters. Zoro's head shifted in her lap, a pained gasp escaping from his lips. They had used the water bottles and towels she'd scammed off the station staff to clean off the remnants of the mysterious liquid. Chopper had pulled a few slivers of glass from his skin and stitched one of the deeper the cuts closed. 

The swordsman normally had exceptional self-control and a near-inhuman pain tolerance. But in this state, Nami had been forced to hold his head still as every touch made him shudder. The moment that Chopper had sewn in the final stitch and wiped the area clean again, the swordsman had passed out where he'd lain. Nami hadn't had the heart to move. Her dress was already ruined, she might as well surrender her lap to him now.

In spite of herself, Nami stroked his hair. Again, his shoulders shuddered.

"Don't," he said, voice strangely gravelly.

Surprised, Nami retracted her hand, only for his shaking to worsen. He bit back a very obvious whimper that they all collectively decided to ignore. Nami placed her hand back on his head but did not stroke, hoping that the familiar scent and comforting weight would soothe his suffering, if only a little.

"Chopper," she began, "are you sure there isn't-"

Her hopes were dashed as the carriage door slammed open.

"Luffy!" exclaimed Nami, instinctively tightening her grip on Zoro and leaning over him like she could shield him with her body.

Zoro's eyelashes fluttered against her bare leg as his eyes opened. Sanji jumped up to stand in Luffy's way but as always, their captain did not take the expected route. Instead he simpy grabbed the top of a nearby seat and rocketed over, landing in the seat beside Chopper. The tiny doctor squeaked, launching the book he'd been looking at into the air.

"Oi!" shouted Sanji.

"Luffy!" cried Chopper.

Still mid-bounce on the seat, Luffy removed the straw hat from his head and placed it firmly on Zoro's chest. His hand lingered there for a brief moment, pressing down on the rim of the hat. Zoro stiffened then went boneless in Nami's arms, his breath catching in his throat.

"Luffy, get out!" Nami shouted.

Chopper's book struck Luffy in the elbow, glancing off his rubbery skin and landing on the carriage floor. Luffy did not move.

"'Uff?" Zoro managed, voice distressingly quiet.

"Zoro's gotta look after this," said Luffy, seriously. "It's really important."

For the first time since agreeing to let Chopper look at him, Zoro moved. Both hands trailed up his body, fingers coming to clutch at the hat. "Yeah," he said. "Okay."

"Yosh!" said Luffy, standing up on the seat and stretching his arms over his head. "I gotta go guard the carriage now."

With that, he zipped off the way he had come and was gone.

Zoro shifted in Nami's grip, rolling in the direction of their wayward captain. She kept a tight grip on the top of his arm, keeping him where he was so he couldn't topple onto the floor. The bare skin pressed into her hand was hot yet clammy. He arched his back instinctively, his chest pressing into her elbow before his strength either gave out or he realised what he was doing and fell back breathlessly onto the seat.

Nami was vaguelly aware of Chopper hopping down from the seat to retrieve his book as she looked down at the suffering swordsman. Zoro's eyes were half open but glassy and unfocussed. They stared in the direction Luffy had gone, looking more forlorn, she thought, than she'd ever seen him before. He sighed, taking measured breaths that sounded louder than they should to Nami's ears. Sanji's footsteps began to recede down the aisle but before she could consider seeing what he was doing, a book was shoved under her nose.

"Nami! The vial, did it look like this inside?" Chopper demanded.

Nami lifted both hands to pull the book away from her face and allow it to fall into focus. Zoro's head took the opportunity to slide off her lap and onto the picnic blanket by her thigh. He curled around the hat Luffy had given him, hands shaking as they maintained a firm grim on its straw rim. His breath came in sharply through his nose. It was enough that even though she was looking at the page, she wasn't really seeing it.

Her gaze wandered back down to the swordsman's flushed face, taking in the way that Zoro's eyes were screwed shut. He brought his legs up further, knees knocking against Luffy's hat. They started to rub together like he was in need of warmth - and perhaps his body thought he was; she could feel the shake of his shoulders. Then his legs stilled, his entire body going rigid. She watched him bite down on his lip, noted the blood welling up at the corner.

"Nami?" prompted Chopper.

Nami's eyes snapped back to the page, where a viscous red liquid was depicted in a beaker. She stared at it for a long moment, trying to recall exactly how the vial had looked in that one moment before it had smashed into the side of Zoro's face.

Looking down at the state he was in now, she would have liked to have said that that moment had been a slow one. The kind of moment in which she knew something momentous or terrible was about to happen, when time seemed to slow so that, even though she couldn't move, she was forced to watch the horror unfold frame by painstaking frame. Like Cocoyashi village. She still recalled how a finger looked in the moment that it pulled a trigger, how the muscles contracted, the way the feedback jolted down the arm. The spray.

This hadn't been that. One moment everything had been fine, irritating but fine. Zoro and Sanji were both almost superhuman; for them, a mere nobody and his goons barely even counted as target practice after CP9 and Enies Lobby. The next moment had been shattering class, a red splash, then Zoro, stained and swaying.

"It could be," she said. "I think so. I mean, it's hard to tell. It was dark and it all happened so quickly. By the time I really saw it, it was dripping down Zoro's face - and all over my dress, I might add." She paused, gently nudging the top of Zoro's head with her leg. Her admonishment to him was equally gentle. If he hadn't been so sick, she assumed he would have been unimpressed. "I'm adding that to your debt."

"Hah," Zoro breathed. "Jus' let 'em..." he trailed off unintelligibly, biting at his lip again.

Chopper frowned. "Zoro, what did it taste like to you?"

"Mmm," said the swordsman, shifting to clasp Luffy's hat tightly to his midsection. It was going to need repairs after this, Nami was sure. "M-metal - smelled like cheap aftershave or the really fancy shit that just smells bad. 'S too much, too much scent."

Chopper poured a little bit more water onto the only remaining dry towel and gently passed it over Zoro's forehead. He brought it down the uninjured side of his face and under his chin, finally dabbing at his neck, where his scent glands were located. A whine escaped the swordsman's tightly clenched teeth.

"Chop-per," the swordsman bit out.

"I know," said Chopper softly. "I know it's uncomfortable but we have to keep you as cool as we can."

Zoro did nothing but breathe and shiver for a moment before replying breathlessly, "'M fine. 'S fine."

Chopper frowned. He didn't say anything but the look on his face as he met Nami's questioning gaze said that it wasn't fine. That Zoro wasn't.

"Do you..." Nami began. "Is there anything we can do now?"

"'S fine," Zoro breathed again but Chopper pressed the towel back to the side of his neck and although the touch was careful and measured, it still elicited a gasp from the swordsman.

In spite of his his near-inhuman tolerance to pain, Zoro winced and curled up even further, crushing Luffy's hat against himself. At the sound of the hat's integrity being compromised, he flinched again, pulling it it upwards to rest just underneath his chin. At his next breath, his body stilled. His breathing stopped. Then he trembled, pressing his nose against the red ribbon attached to the hat.

Sanji's jacket, which had been draped over his lower body in an attempt to preserve some of his modesty and pride, had slipped down onto the picnic blanket draped over the seat. Nami retrieved it now and very carefully smoothed it back over Zoro's hips.

"Ah!" said Zoro and bit down on the straw rim of Luffy's hat, screwing his eyes shut once more. 

"Sorry," said Nami, smoothing his sweat-dampened hair back from his forehead. His heat met her hand violently, reminding her of the man himself. He was far too warm.

Nami across at Chopper grimly.

Chopper shook his head. "I can't administer anything until I know the composition of the drug he's been exposed to."

"But you can figure that out?" prompted Nami, as Zoro pressed his face into Luffy's hat, hiding it from their view.

The sight made Chopper frown further. "Yes, but not on the train. I think I know what it might be but..." he trailed off, looking down at the struggling swordsman.

Nami raised an eyebrow. "But?"

"But I'll need to examine it further in case I'm wrong and it's something new or something updated." He looked from the page of his book down to Zoro, eyes closing before sliding over to the window. He stared out into the inky blackness, seeing nothing in it. There was nothing to see. Chopper was seeing something else, and hiding something from the rest of them.

"Chopper," Nami prompted.

She noticed Sanji from the corner of her eye, walking back down the aisle towards them. There was tension to his every step and a scowl on his face. An unlit cigarette hung from his lips and his fingers toyed with the lighter.

"How's the marimo?" he said quietly, reclaiming his previous seat.

"Fine," gasped Zoro.

They all looked down at him, panting into Luffy's hat like it was the only source of air in the room, shoulders shaking with each breath. Nobody denied him. Nobody said anything.

"Luffy still outside?" said Nami, finally.

Zoro stiffened.

Sanji's scowl deepened. He shrugged. "Looking for the refreshments carriage."

"But it'll be closed now," said Nami. Her fingers found the top of Zoro's head and threaded themselves through his hair. His shoulders briefly stilled.

Sanji lit his cigarette. "Robin told him. He said he'd 'make it open.'"

Behind her eyes, Nami's head throbbed. "Well go stop him. We can't afford any trouble here. Not while Zoro is..."

"Fine," insisted Zoro, pulling the hat away from his face just enough to glare up at her from the corner of his eye.

"He said he was getting water," remarked Sanji before taking a long drag of his cigarette. "Marimos need watering after all."

His eyes slid over to Zoro but no scathing retort was forthcoming and his frown only deepened.

Nami's eyes automatically found the half empty bottle on the table between her and Chopper. It was all they had left. With Zoro overheating like this, Luffy wasn't wrong for once; they did need more.

Sanji seemed to have drawn the same conclusion. Before Nami could add anything else, he added, "He's probably halfway through the train's food stores by now. He'll be back before you know it."

Nami's hand left Zoro's hair to rub at her temples. The swordsman lifted his head to chase it, rubbing his cheek against her leg on the way back down and seeming completely unaware that he had done so.

"Found the antidote yet?" asked Sanji.

Chopper didn't reply immediately. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before turning back towards the carriage's other occupants. "Not yet," he said. The words were pointed.

Sanji noticed that too. "Found the poison yet?" His tone was casual but his eyes were sharp.

Chopper swallowed. Quietly, slowly and carefully, he said, "I think I've found the base for it. But until I can examine it closely, I can't be sure exactly what it was. I won't know until then if there's anything - I mean, what I can do to help."

Nami swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry.

"It's heat trigger then," said Sanji, looking down at the book open in Chopper's lap.

Chopper nodded. "Yeah."

"No sh-shit," said Zoro shifting on the seat. He cut off, biting at his lip to bite back a small sound.

"Has to be a pretty strong one," remarked Sanji, pointedly looking down at Zoro.

"Yeah," said Chopper grimly.

"Iceburg might be able to get us some blockers when we get back to Water 7," said Nami, adding with a tilt of the head, "Or Franky. If not, he'll just have to find us another room for Zoro to ride it out while Franky finishes the ship."

Chopper wrinkled his nose. He was looking down at Zoro, not at any of them. Zoro's eyes were closed now, his back pressed to the back of the seat. As before, he was squirming in place, discomfort evident in the set of his eyebrows. His breathing was shuddery but stable with it, measured. Like he was either attempting meditation or sleep.

Nami didn't think Chopper was going to respond, using the excuse that it would be better to sit quietly and let the swordsman try to rest. But he did, very quietly: "I think... it might be a little bit more complicated than that."

Nami raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" she replied, equally quietly.

Sanji leaned in closer to hear her, a serious expression on his face in spite of his current proximity to her. The delicate scent of her expensive perfume was entirely eclipsed by the scent of omega-in-heat coming from their wandering swordsman even to their beta noses. She could only guess how it must have been to Chopper.

Chopper continued to watch Zoro's face for a moment before responding. "Not all heat triggers actually trigger a natural heat. They might all trigger heat like symptoms in omega patients but their purposes are different so the components are different too. Zoro's symptoms exceed an ordinary heat. That and the speed of the reaction tell me that it's probably not that kind of heat trigger. That leaves two other options."

Once again, the little doctor seemed to be looking but not seeing. His soft voice continued as though mumbling to himself. "The first is the kind of heat trigger used for recreational activities - it would contain fake hormones that would temporarily convince an omega's body that they were deep into the most intense part of their heat. A mistake in dosage could lead to this kind of extreme reaction, but it's not normally in liquid form and the compounds that make it up are usually more of a plum tone. If it is one based on that drug that we just have to keep monitoring him, keep his temperature down and make sure that he stays hydrated. His body wouldn't be producing those hormones so they would just wear off with the drug and we could let it run its course..."

Zoro stirred, fingers grasping at the rim of Luffy's hat. He pressed his face deeper into the hollow that Luffy's head normally occupied, breathing a shaky sigh. They all paused to watch but the omega said nothing, did nothing else.

Chopper continued in an even quieter voice: "The second type tricks the omega's body into rapidly increasing hormone production. It uses similar compounds to the ones made when a mating bond is being formed to create heightened heat state. Except that, without a mating bond, there is usually no partner alpha. And this wouldn't be a problem in a normal heat, but while a bond is being formed, it's crucial for an omega to have access to their alpha mate. It's through the sharing of bodily fluids - saliva through the mating bite or... sexual intercourse, that other regulating hormones are able to be produced and the omega's heat-state can come to an end."

A pained gasp left the swordsman's mouth, muffled by Luffy's hat. Chopper reached for the bottle of water and poured a little more on the towel. Before he pressed it to the exposed area of Zoro's neck, he paused and frowned further. Nami didn't have to crane her neck to so the sweat soaked skin of Zoro's neck or the swollen scent glands that stood out underneath the glinting gold of his earrings.

"If it was that one," said Nami, very quietly, holding her body very still, "what would it look like?"

"Well," said Chopper, momentarily pulling the towel away from Zoro's prone form. It dripped onto the floor, somehow seeming loud even over the roaring of water outside of their carriage. "He would experience all of the symptoms of heat to an extreme degree, starting very quickly from exposure. He might have a rapid pulse and fever with chills. His scent glands would be inflamed and painful to the touch."

At that, Chopper paused. Sanji shifted in his seat, head tilting to the side to afford him a view of what Nami had been able to see since the beginning: Zoro's throat, which quivered with each shuddering breath he took. They had both felt his body slowly dissolve into a shivering mess as they had walked back from that bar. They had both felt the heat coming off him in waves as they had been forced to take more and more of his weight - without him noticing because although he very clearly felt like utter trash, the swordsman's pride remained intact. But only Nami had sat for the past hour and a half with a prime view of the way that the glands were up in Zoro's throat.

But there were multiple glands in the throat. Some of them regularly became inflamed when a person was unwell. Zoro, with a fever that high, was definitely unwell. It could have been that and nothing more.

As soon as that thought had passed through Nami's mind, Chopper wiped at Zoro's throat with the towel. Again, the touch was light, careful. Again, Zoro's body jerked, his head shooting backwards to escape the sudden pressure. A pained noise escaped him, turning to a whine as his face left Luffy's hat. He headbutted the side of Nami's hip.

Chopper reached out again with it, dabbing gently at his forehead and cheeks. He shivered and groaned but did not move away, not until the towel again dipped under his chin and down to his collarbones, finally sliding across to the side of his neck and the back of it.

"Ah!" he gasped, pushing his body upwards on the seat.

His cheek ended up against Nami's thigh and her hand immediately fell onto his sweat slicked hair to steady him.

"Chop-per," he gasped out again, cracking open one eye to glare, apparently oblivious to the way that all three of his crewmates were looking at him.

"I'm sorry, Zoro," said Chopper, making an effort to banish his frown. "But you have to let us keep you cool."

"'S fine," he muttered again, the words slurring together.

His body, which had uncurled to escape Chopper's ministrations, curled back into a ball, Luffy's hat shielding his face from view. Minutes passed this way, silence hanging in the air around them as thickly as Zoro's heady scent.

Nami was the one who broke it. "If it is that one, the second one," she said in a low voice, "what do you need us to do?"

Sanji had turned his face away, eyes staring vaguely out into the starless night outside. But now he turned them back to Chopper. Hand in Zoro's hair, Nami did the same.

Chopper looked very pointedly away, gripping the book in his lap tightly. "I don't..." he began, taking in a long breath through his nose. "I don't know."

Nami waited for him to say 'yet'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Next chapter is when things get spicy. We also return to Zoro's pov.
> 
> Please let me know your thoughts!
> 
> I have also just got a tumblr and a twitter specifically for all my nerdy stuff (especially One Piece atm). Please do feel free to hit me up on either platform. I'm using teaandabiccie on both and can be found here:
> 
> I also take writing prompts/requests on tumblr sometimes but I don't promise to get to all of them <3
> 
> https://twitter.com/teaandabiccie  
> https://teaandabiccie.tumblr.com/


	3. Galley La

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apparently started writing this exactly one month ago. I hope it was worth the wait!
> 
> I actually expected to fit more into this chapter but the end of it felt like the right place to cut it. We have two chapters left of the originally planned story. I have however been asked by my roommate, who requested this in the first place, to extend the story further.
> 
> She has plans for Thriller Bark. And Marineford. And she promised to take over cleaning the bathroom if I indulge her. I really hate cleaning the bathroom.
> 
> BUT ANYWAY, I hope you enjoy this instalment!

Zoro was drowning.

He wasn't actually drowning, in spite of Chopper's irritating insistence upon wiping him down with a damp cloth and pressing to his lips water bottles that he had no interest in drinking from. But that was the closest feeling to the one he was currently experiencing.

Drowning in his own body.

Each breath burned as he drew it, cold air catching in his throat like sandpaper, drying his mough like saltwater. His entire body burned. He'd known that from the cool touch of Nami's bare leg beneath his cheek, rubbing maddeningly with each miniscule motion of the sea train. Heat flooded through him in a waves. Each layer placed on him to preserve his modesty (what little remained) was too much: too heavy, too hot, too _inadequate_. When each wave receded there came an icy chill that emanated from his core. His core which was empty. Isolated. Alone.

He ached. Everything ached. Inside and out.

The voices of his crew - only Sanji, Nami and Chopper - washed over him like the lapping of the ocean at the shoreline. Comforting but vague. Their words were lost to him, background noise to the loud, desperate demands of his body. Their scents came through better.

Nami's familiar citrus smell, her nails catching his scalp as she threaded her fingers through his hair. It was supposed to be a comforting motion, he was certain of that. But it wasn't. It was unnecessary and should have made him bristle with irritation; he wasn't some child who needed her comfort. But it didn't. It made him tremble. He wanted her to stop, needed her to stop because her touch was simultaneously too much and not anywhere near enough. His body wanted her to continue, needed her rhythmic touches to trail downwards.

No. _No._

It wasn't her he needed.

No, that wasn't it either; he didn't need anything at all.

The sea train lurched. Nami's hand left his hair and grabbed his shoulder, holding him in place. It was a deceptively cool weight, pressing the dampness of his shirt to his skin. Luffy's hat rolled away from his chest and he grabbed for it with both hands, uncoordinated fingers snagging the red ribbon. He brought it back beneath his chin, cradling it to his chest.

In the moment before he caught the scent of the Straw Hat captain, Zoro's heart lurched with the movement of the sea train, his chest constricting. He swallowed, Luffy's scent meeting his nose at his next shaky breath. Strong, familiar, _safe_.

Safe? That thought slipped in unbidden, unneeded. He gripped the hat harder, a rough piece of old straw digging in to the calloused pad of his thumb. It grounded him slightly, stopped his head from spinning.

"...give it a minute or so then we'll start moving," somebody was saying. Nami. It was Nami. He could feel her voice vibrate through the side of his face. His skin tingled where it was touched.

"Yes, Nami-swaaaan!" came the reply.

Someone brushed his hip and he flinched as a weight was removed from him. His eyelids fluttered and opened. He blinked the blurred image of Chopper into focus. The reindeer had transformed into heavy point and was holding Sanji's jacket over one arm.

"I'll take Zoro," said Chopper, reaching for the end of the picnic blanket that Zoro was laying on.

It took Zoro a moment to find his voice. His throat was dry, his tongue feeling too large for his mouth. "I'll take myself."

Startled, Chopper dropped the end of the blanket over him. Weirdly, it felt better than it had before. He snuggled into it. Nami took the other end of it and tucked it more tightly around him. He shuddered, eyes automatically falling shut only to snap open immediately as he realised what was happening.

Nami and Chopper exhcanged a look but before either could say anything, the carriage door burst open. Luffy barged straight in, a scarf tied around the lower portion of his face. Robin stood behind him in the doorway, looking between the exit to the train and the rest of the crew.

"Now would be a good time for us to leave," said Robin through her own scarf. "There are only station staff around."

Ignoring a startled sound from Sanji, Luffy walked right up to them. "Let's go!"

Zoro made an attempt extricate his arms from the picnic blanket but they were uncoordinated enough that he hadn't succeeded by the time that Nami noticed. Her hand brushed his cheek as she reached into the blanket. Zoro froze, trying to surpress the shiver that rolled through him as Nami's wrist brushed his collarbone. Her fingers closed around Luffy's hat, tugging it free of his grip.

Zoro gasped. The rim of the hat scraped the tip of his nose as it came free, his sharp inhale bringing a wash of Luffy's scent over him. Like stepping into a hot bath, his skin tingled, his muscles going lax as he all but melted where he laid. His cheek dropped back down onto Nami's leg with a slap. It rattled. With it came the faint tang of tangerines.

Nami's hand found its way to his hair as her other hand tossed Luffy his hat. It wasn't right. Nothing about it was right. It wasn't enough.

"Take the hat and get out of the way," said Nami, impatiently. Her fingernails dug into Zoro's scalp and he jerked his head away. "See, you're not helping."

Luffy didn't move. He stood just out of the reach of Zoro's foot, which dangled off the end of the seat. His hat was held in one hand as he looked down at Zoro and frowned.

 _Wrong, wrong, wrong,_ sang something inside Zoro. Something that tasted sour and felt like plunging into a bucket of ice.

But it wasn't. Of course Luffy was looking at him like that. Why wouldn't he be? Zoro, who had promised his captain he'd become the world's greatest swordsman and been told that the pirate king expected nothing less, had been taken down by a simple bar fight. A bar fight that couldn't even have been called a fight - it had been over in seconds. Yet here he was, a sticky, shuddering mess, stuck in a picnic blanket.

Of course his alpha captain didn't want him.

The thought blindsided him and he froze, the heat that had momentarily flushed his body receding again. His heart clenched in his chest, its next beat skipped. He must have paled or made a sound because Luffy, Nami and Chopper all turned to look at him, Nami stopping speaking mid-word, her mouth still open soundlessly.

"I'm taking Zoro," said Luffy, stepping forwards decisively.

"Luffy-" began both Chopper and Nami, equally alarmed.

Luffy brushed past Chopper and looped a rubbery arm around Zoro's shoulders, pulling him into a sitting position. "Robin said we have to get Zoro back to the room as fast as possible. I'm as fast as possible," said the pirate captain in a voice that left no room for arguments.

Nami argued anyway. "That's not-"

"I'm taking Zoro," Luffy repeated and the arm tightened, pulling Zoro upwards until he was hoisted like a rolled up rug under Luffy's arm.

His breath caught in his throat, a pained noise cut off by the constriction of his stomach as Luffy unthinkingly squeezed him. For a moment, he saw stars and dangled there, stunned.

"Luffy-" started Chopper.

At the same time, Nami snapped, "Don't hold him like that - Zoro is fragile right now."

At this, in spite of it all, Zoro bristled. "Not fragile," he hissed. "Put me - 'm fine."

The second sentence became little more than a wheeze as Luffy swung him forwards and started adjusting his position.

"Luf-" started Nami.

"I know," said Luffy, ignoring Nami entirely. One of his hands found Zoro's thigh and gripped it tightly, hoisting him upwards against his body.

Zoro gasped, back arching against his will. His body wanted to push back against the hand and let it trace upwards towards the space between his thighs but that involuntary movement had pressed his chest against Luffy's and warmth now enveloped him even through the picnic blanket he was still wrapped in. The thick fabric of the picnic blanket, which was currently the only barrier between the alpha's hands and the slick soaked skin of his inner thighs.

The thick fabric, which was only so thick, and definitely not thick enough to obscure the shape of his body underneath it. He hoped Luffy did not shift the angle of his legs. There would be no hiding the hardness between them.

He hoped Luffy did shift him.

Luffy gripped him tighter, cradling his body against his own his he continued: "I know Zoro's really strong but he's also hurt right now so he hasta let us take care of him."

 _Yes, please, take care of_ _me,_ his body purred as Luffy adjusted his grip, fingers slipping into the damp hair at the back of Zoro's head. His forehead came to rest against Luffy's jaw, Robin's scarf preventing the contact of their skin. Zoro cut off a whine as it started to build in the back of his throat, breathing quickly. Luffy shifted him again, supporting his weight now in one rubber arm. The movement was not smooth. Want jolted through his body.

"A-ah-" he gasped in the place of a reply.

He couldn't even remember anymore what he was supposed to be replying to. His head was fuzzy. He was so very cold and the alpha body against his own was so very warm.

"Fine," spat Nami bedgrudgingly. Her voice shocked Zoro - he'd almost forgotten she was there. "Take Chopper with you. We'll follow right behind you with the stuff."

"We should check in with Franky," Robin added. "If the new ship is ready, we could let Swordsman-san settle in there before we get too comfortable in Water 7. If not, someone will need to ask Iceburg-san for additional rooms."

They continued to talk but Zoro's attention was diverted as Luffy suddenly crouched down, bracing Zoro between his bent knees and his chest. It wasn't an embrace but with Luffy curled around him like this, it felt like one. The alpha's legs supported his butt and lower back, arms still wrapped around him. Their chests would have brushed together if not for the layers of blanket and clothing between them. The scarf fell forwards, brushing his cheek and bringing with it a wave of Luffy's determined scent, tainted with concern.

Too much. The alpha captain was everywhere and yet not everywhere. His body wanted him to be everywhere, wanted skin against skin, wanted this feeling not just outside but in. It was too much, too intense. Not at all enough.

He trembled in Luffy's arms, panting into his shoulder, trying to keep still and keep quiet. The involuntary motion of his body created friction and he squirmed. That created more. It still wasn't enough. A frustrated noise escaped the back of his throat, sounding entirely too much like a whimper. He froze.

What the hell was he doing?

"Sorry, Zoro," said Luffy, his voice quiet, low. It vibrated through him and his skin tingled.

Zoro shuddered. He opened his mouth to respond. Luffy shouldn't have to apologise to him, didn't have to, shouldn't at all. It wasn't Luffy's fault that Zoro was weak.

Luffy stood.

_Weak, useless, a burden. Unwanted._

The loss of his warmth was awful. The feeling of failure was worse. It stuck in the back of his throat, sank somewhere in his core and settled there, a dead weight in his chest.

"We're going now," said Luffy, surprisingly seriously. He adjust Zoro's weight in his arm again, cradling him close, secure. "Ready?"

From his other shoulder, Chopper's voice came, "Yeah."

"Yes," breathed Zoro.

Luffy's adjustment had brought Zoro's face against his throat, his forehead resting against the alpha's jaw once more. Except that as Luffy propelled himself forwards, the air whipping around them toyed with the scarf covering it. Luffy's scent hit his nose direct from the source.

It was everything he needed. Almost.

Without thought, Zoro nuzzled into the newly exposed skin there, rubbing his cheek against it, his own scent thick around him, uncontrollable.

_Yes, please, yours._

Lost in the sensation, the need, the dull ache that reminded him that however good this was, he was still lacking, Zoro did not realise what he was doing. Not until Luffy tilted his head to the side and began to rub his own cheek against the top of his head.

The captain's scent strengthened. Definitively Luffy. Luffy's scent had always been strong and bright and tantalising. It had always made Zoro want to be closer to him, to go along with his ridiculous schemes, share his adventures and his space. Now, it was something else.

That little voice, that sinful part of him attached to his dynamic that he had spent so many years ignoring, suppressing, floods him with satisfaction. His alpha captain hadn't stopped him. His alpha captain had scented him back. He wasn't rejected. His weakness did not warrant his removal.

He lifted his head, trying to rise in Luffy's arms so he could get better access to the source of that wonderful scent. He pressed the side of his neck against the side of Luffy's, intermingling their scents and feeling the heat spread upwards from his lower belly and into his chest.

"Stop!" shouted a voice.

Zoro froze, still pressed against Luffy. Luffy landed heavily on a rooftop, stumbling forward for four or five steps before coming to an ungraceful halt. Zoro's heart hammered in his chest.

"What's wrong, Chopper?" asked Luffy.

Zoro could feel his heartbeat through his neck.

"My backpack!" said Chopper, his normally higher pitched voice even higher with alarm. "I left my backpack with the others."

"Do we have to go back? We're halfway there and Nami said they'd bring all the stuff from the train," Luffy replied.

"No but... I need it for Zoro and Robin said they were going to check on Franky first and that will take up a lot of time and it's too much time but Zoro has to get back as soon as possible. I'm sorry, Luffy. I wasn't thinking. Well, I _was_ thinking but I wasn't checking."

"What if I take Zoro and you go get your backpack and then I'll come back and meet you halfway?" said Luffy.

"You can't leave Zoro all by himself like that," said Chopper. "What if something happens? He can't defend himself."

Even through the haze of Luffy's scent intertwined with his own and the sheer satisfaction it brought him, Zoro heard that. It brought a spark back. Offense. Determination.

He wasn't weak. This wasn't him. He would be fine. He opened his mouth to tell them so but all that came out was an unintelligible mumble.

Chopper looked towards him and frowned.

Luffy paused then replied, "Okay, then you go get your stuff and then meet us in the room. Then Zoro can get comfy and stuff and then I'll make sure nothing happens. What do I need to do when we get there?"

Chopper chewed on his bottom lip, looking between Zoro and Luffy for a long moment until Luffy shifted impatiently. The movement shifted Zoro in his arms and the swordsman trembled then nuzzled into his collar bone.

"You have to keep his temperature down. So when you get to the room, lay him on the bed and make sure he's not wrapped in that picnic blanket. If he can change into dry clothes, that would be best but if not, get a damp cloth and lay it over his forehead. Change it every few minutes until his temperature starts to go down again. Make sure he has something to drink - water, not sake. Try to give him some space and privacy in between checking on him. And Luffy?"

The words floated over Zoro, select syllables making it into his mind. Such as temperature. Heat. He was not warm though. He burned but it wasn't warmth that caused it. If anything, he felt cold. His skin where the pressure of Luffy's arm was not grounding him prickled with cold.

They were moving again before he knew it, the wind once more whipping Luffy's clothes around him and their combined scents swirling with the breeze. The scenery was lost Zoro. Everything was lost to Zoro except the feeling of Luffy's bare neck and shoulder against his own, the symphony of sensation when his alpha captain periodically reciprocated his scenting, sending warmth through his body.

Then the wind ceased. A door was kicked open. Other familiar scents met his nose. Citrus, cigarettes, coffee, Chopper _._ The crew as a whole, almost. Home. His body sagged in Luffy's arms. Too soon because as soon as he did so, he was dropped onto a bed.

He forced his eyes to open. When had he closed them? Luffy's face was blinked back into focus. The captain's hands reached for the picnic blanket, unwrapping him like a present. Zoro laid still, allowing this to happen even though the touch of the cooler air to his skin made a shiver roll through him. He allowed his head to loll to the side, taking a shaky breath. Luffy's scent lingered on the pillow under his head.

Luffy's bed. Luffy had set him on his own bed. Zoro rubbed his face against it.

"Can Zoro change?" asked Luffy, head tilted to the side.

The look in his eyes was not the same as it usually it was. It was somehow more serious.

It took Zoro a moment to find his voice. "Yeah," he replied breathlessly.

Zoro could do anything his captain asked of him. But he didn't move, not immediately. His limbs and his mind were disconnected and Luffy's gaze bored into him. His eyes were brown. So brown, so warm. His look made Zoro's body shudder.

Luffy reached for his shoulder, Zoro's breath catching in his throat.

"These are wet," he said, pulling a face. "They're gonna make you cold. You gotta take 'em off."

"Yeah," said Zoro swallowing.

They were wet. Everything was wet.

Luffy's fingers curled under the neckline of his shirt. Fingernails brushed his skin, unintentional yet feather light. Zoro gasped, back arching into the touch automatically. The promise of pleasure pulsed between his legs.

Luffy frowned. "Zoro?"

"Yeah," Zoro breathed.

Breathe. He could do that. He needed to do that. That and _nothing_ else.

"Can you take 'em off or do you want me to help you?" Luffy asked.

"Yes," Zoro answered and it came out more emphatically, stronger than the answers before.

 _Yes_ because Luffy had asked and he could do anything that was asked of him without question. _Yes_ because he wanted nothing more than for the alpha captain to slip his hands into his shirt and-

No. No, Luffy needed to leave. Zoro needed to sort this out by himself, without assistance, without an audience. This wasn't how any of this was supposed to go. This wasn't what his heat should feel like. This wasn't who he was. Something was wrong. Everything was wrong.

Somebody emitted a low whine. He didn't realise right away that it had been him.

Luffy's hands came up and cupped his face on either side. He realised as he stared into worried brown eyes that he was breathing heavily.

"Okay," said Luffy. "Zoro's okay. He's gonna be okay. I'm gonna help, okay?"

And he tugged Zoro's haramaki down over his hips, the fabric constricting sensitive flesh and making Zoro buck his hips upwards to no avail. One of Luffy's hands pressed down on his hip bone, pushing him back into the bed. Heat bloomed in his body wherever the alpha captain's fingers touched.

Luffy's other hand slipped under the hem of his borrowed Galley La shirt. When Zoro did nothing but tremble under the touch, he began to slowly peel it upwards.

"I'm gonna help," Luffy repeated, pausing with one hand still restraining Zoro's hip, the other resting on his shuddering chest. "Okay?"

Zoro's eyelids fluttered. He looked up at the alpha leaning over him through half-lidded eyes.

"Yeah," he said. "Okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed! Please let me know your thoughts - comments of all kinds encourage me to keep going with these.
> 
> I am a simple woman. I receive feedback. I resume writing immediately.
> 
> (I'm aware that Chopper may seem a bit OOC in this chapter, towards the end here. It shall be addressed, fear not!)
> 
> Next chapter contains the main portion of the spice.
> 
> If you want to scream at me outside of my fanfics, I can be found over tumblr and twitter, though I'm more active on tumblr. I mostly post fandom content on these accounts. Sometimes there is art. I also take drabble/one-shot requests on tumblr.
> 
> https://twitter.com/teaandabiccie  
> https://teaandabiccie.tumblr.com/

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> I accept constructive criticism. Any comments bring me joy and inspire me to keep going with the project. This is waaaaay out of my usual wheelhouse so I welcome your thoughts!


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